Yemen Emergency Appeal raises over £133,000

Donations doubled to raise emergency funds

Working closely with the DEC and other humanitarian organisations, the Big Give launched an emergency match fund on December 14th. In just two weeks, the campaign has raised over £133,000 thanks to generous donations from the public. Donations were generously matched by philanthropists, trusts and foundations including the Reed Foundation.

Funds raised

Four charities took part in the campaign: the Disasters Emergency Committee; Care International UK; International Rescue Committee UK and Concern Worldwide. The fund was launched in collaboration with the DEC who launched a televised appeal to raise awareness and funds for the crisis.

7 million people in war-torn Yemen do not know where their next meal will come from and children are dying from malnutrition and preventable diseases. Charities are providing food and malnutrition treatment, water, hygiene and sanitation solutions.

Alex Day, Director at the Big Give commented:

“We were delighted to be able to work with the DEC and other organisations to launch a match fund for the Yemen crisis, using the power of match funding to raise over £90,000 in the first day alone. We quickly rallied support from donors who kindly offered match funds for the campaign and were heart-warmed to see so many donations flooding in. We’re incredibly grateful for all the donations, particularly at a time when we know that donors have already given generously. The funds are desperately needed in Yemen and we thank all those involved for their support.”

Help is still urgently needed and you can make an unmatched donation here.

£25 could provide a month’s supply of life-saving peanut paste to a malnourished child

£60 could provide clean drinking water for two families for a month

£100 could provide supplies to a clinic treating severely malnourished children for a week

The situation in Yemen

Crisis point has been reached with two thirds of the population of Yemen (18.8 million people) in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. As a result of 20 months of war in Yemen, people have lost their jobs and the economy has almost collapsed. Hospitals, schools and farms have been destroyed.

4.5 million people require treatment or prevention services for malnutrition – almost a 150 per cent rise since late 2014. Children under five – including infants – and pregnant and breastfeeding women are the most affected.

Some 3.1 million people have fled their homes as a result of the conflict. As of October 2016, nearly 2.2 million people remained displaced within Yemen, of which almost 1 million are children.

A cholera outbreak continues in Yemen’s western areas. As of November 24, 2016, 103 confirmed cases in 31 districts and 6,121 suspected cases have been reported in 86 districts.